Marist men’s lacrosse is set to face the Siena Saints in the first round of the MAAC Conference men’s lacrosse tournament on April 27 at 7 p.m. under the lights at Tenney Stadium.
Two weeks ago on ESPNU, the Red Foxes picked up arguably one of their most important wins of the season against the Saints, 14-13 at Tenney Stadium. The Red Foxes have dominated the rivalry recently, winning nine straight matchups dating back to 2015.
In their most recent matchup, sophomore attackman Peter Murray and graduate student attackman Joshua Balcarcel tallied five points each. Junior goaltender Noble Smith notched 15 saves on the night. Both teams have won four out of their last five matchups, propelling them to the MAAC tournament.
“[This is a] huge rival not only for our program, but for the school. We take a lot of pride and it means a lot to us. So it’s not only a playoff game, it has those rivalry implications on it,” said head coach Keegan Wilkinson. “We’re expecting a really intense game, they’re going to come out, ready to go.”
Goaltender Matchup
Both goalies have been solid in between the pipes for their teams thus far. Smith has been on his game of late, averaging 15 saves in the past three games. Smith ranks fourth in the MAAC in saves per game with 12.29.
For Siena, senior goaltender Andrew Acurri ranks ninth in the MAAC in saves per game with 10.71. If the Red Foxes want to advance, Smith needs to continue his performances in conference play.
“Noble has been fantastic in April. The defense has stepped up this month and provided Noble with all the shots that he wants to see,” said Wilkinson. “So I’m proud of not only Noble, but the entire defense for buckling down.”
Stopping the Saints’ High-Scoring Tandem
The Saint’s offense is propelled by junior attackman Pratt Reynolds and sophomore attackman Cade Olmstead, who rank second and third in the conference in goals per game. The Red Foxes’ defense has been up to the challenge regarding stopping high-scoring scorers.
Last Saturday against Virginia Military Institute, Marist held junior attackman Luke Rusterucci, the leading points per game player of VMI, to two points. In the first game against the Red Foxes, the two Saints combined for six points.
Marist will need an all-around defensive effort from their starting defenders: junior defender Aidan McCaffrey, who broke the school single-season record for most caused turnovers, graduate student defender Kurt Wessner, sophomore defender Joshua Arneson and freshman long stick midfielder Micheal Cassano. Wilkinson praised Siena for having one of the most talented trios at attack in the conference
“I think they have a great combination in those two guys,” said Wilkinson. “It’s certainly one of the most dynamic units in the conference and a huge task for us to defend no more like we did in the first matchup.”
The Faceoff X
This matchup is the best first-round faceoff matchup on paper with both players winning faceoffs at a 50% clip or better. Siena’s graduate student faceoff specialist, Dylan Pape ranks second in the MAAC in faceoff percentage (.546%). Marist junior faceoff specialist Dylan Bedell has also been solid this season, winning at the “X” at a 50% clip.
Bedell’s ability to match Pape’s performance will be vital for Marist. In the first matchup, Pape had a slight advantage against Bedell, winning 55% of the faceoffs. Bedell finished at a 45% clip against Pape in their matchup two weeks ago.
“We’ve seen that matchup a couple of times now, over the last few years, so he’s gonna have to be really aggressive and get his nose over the ball,” said Wilkinson. “With Kevin Radman as a short stick and Michael Cassano on top, so it’s gonna be a three-man battle for sure.”
A Mixture of Youth and Experience for Marist
Looking back on last year, the Red Foxes relied on experience to obtain a MAAC Championship, where six starters were also members of the 2019 MAAC Championship team.
Fast forward to today, eight starters on this year’s team were a part of the MAAC Championship title last year. When it comes to late April, teams tend to rely on the players who have been there before. Look for younger players to defer to Balcarcel, junior attackman Jake Deacy, and graduate student midfielders Stephen Bickel and Keenan DaReave for guidance in the new environment playoff lacrosse brings.
The freshman impact has not gone unnoticed, as two out of the top four goal scorers for Marist this year are freshman in midfielder Sean Mullan and attackman Colin Patrick. Both players have stepped into their big roles very well and the two look like veterans on the field.
“Those younger guys were really fortunate, honestly, to have such a great group of upperclassmen, you know, not only in terms of their proficiency on the field, but just in general,” said Wilkinson.
“It’s been a really enjoyable year to coach this team because they’re guys that love being around each other and love being a practice every day. On the offensive side, you got guys like Josh Balcarcel, Peter Murray and Jake Deacy, who have been doing a really good job of helping younger freshmen kind of continue to stay confident as the seasons progressed.”
Marist will look to put on its best all-around performance of the season as they try to advance to the MAAC semi-finals.
Edited by Marley Pope and Luke Sassa
Photo credit: Jaylen Rizzo
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.